


High School Never Ends (Especially if You're a Teacher)

by CustardBattle



Category: X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, And is in his 30s, Because fuck historical accuracy, But Erik is still a Holocaust survivor, Emotionally dense boys, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Outdoor Education Trip, Passable French, Probably lots of OCC behaviour, Really weird timelines, Rivalry, Seriously I just randomly assigned ages to people, allusions to the holocaust, but not much of it, from everyone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-06-06 04:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6738730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CustardBattle/pseuds/CustardBattle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A and B are rivals in school, but outside of school they are actually very lovey dovey.</p><p>Bonus points if someone catches A and B together and getting along.</p><p> </p><p>I found this prompt on tumblr and set out to write a oneshot. Whoops...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Hank McCoy stepped out of Principle Grey's office into the bustling halls of Liberty Secondary School. He glanced down at his schedule before braving the halls in order to find his first class. Almost immediately he ran directly into a pretty blonde girl who was rushing through the halls. Hank felt his face heat up as he muttered apologies, angry at his own awkwardness.

The girl laughed in response. "It's alright, I should have been looking as well. I haven't seen you around before, are you new?"

Hank nodded dumbly, astounded that this girl, who looked like she should be a cheerleader, was both apologizing to him and taking an interest in the nerdy new kid.

"I'm Raven," the girl - Raven - continued, unaware of Hank's internal turmoil. "Welcome to Liberty High! Do you need help finding your classes?"

Hank shook himself out of his stupor, feeling his cheeks heat up even more. "Yeah. I mean yes, that would be great, thanks."

"No problem, let me see your schedule." Raven snatched the piece of paper from Hank's hand before he had a chance to react. She read through all of Hank's classes and immediately burst out laughing.

"What?" Hank asked, offended.

"No, no." Raven said through her laughter, "I'm not laughing at you." She took a couple deep breaths and got control of herself. "I'm laughing at your schedule. You're taking Biology, German, Phys ed, English, Physics, Chemistry, History, Ethics, and Calculus. That is the best mix of teachers ever."

Now Hank was really confused. "What do you mean, the best mix of teachers ever?"

Raven gestured at Hank to follow her as she started walking down the hallway. "It's just a really weird mix. You've got Mr. LeBeau, Mr. Summers and Mr. Howlett, that's Phys ed, English, and History respectively. They're all dating and have been forever, I've never had all three of them at once but supposedly it's hilarious. Then you have Ms. Pryde for chemistry and Mr. Rasputin for physics. They're both really great teachers. Everyone calls Mr. Rasputin Colossus because he's so huge and his real name is _Rasputin_." She said that like it explained everything. "Then you've got Ethics with Ms. Frost, which is the most ironic thing ever because that woman is an ice cold bitch without an ethical bone in her body. Do everything you can to stay on her good side, I swear she has a heart of stone. You have Calculus with Ms. Monroe, who is the nicest person in the world. And finally you have Dr. Xavier for Biology and Herr Lehnsherr, they're both good teachers but they have a legendary feud. No one knows why or how it started but those two have been at each others throats for as long as anyone can remember. Lucky you, you've got them back to back!"

Raven seemed far to excited at the prospect of Hank having to see two teachers who reportedly had a legendary feud one after another. Hank opened his mouth to respond, unsure exactly what he planned to say, but Raven interrupted suddenly. "Here we are! Room 203, Biology with Dr. Xavier. I have to rush to class or I'll be late. Have fun!"

Hank barely had time to thank Raven before she was gone. He took a deep breath and walked into the classroom, not entirely sure what to expect.

As it turned out, Dr. Xavier was a handsome young man who dressed like a 50 year old university professor and spoke with a lilting, upper class British accent. He seemed rather innocuous and perfectly pleasant. It was hard to imagine him having a longstanding feud with anyone.

Dr. Xavier began his class by introducing Hank to everyone and sending him to sit next to a boy called Bobby. Bobby was objectively quite good looking but it was offset by the fact that he dressed like an intellectual douche. Hank muttered a quiet greeting to the boy as he slid into his seat. Bobby just nodded in response.

The class went by quickly. As it was the first day of school Dr. Xavier handed out an outline for the year and they spent the hour going over course expectations. It wasn't a very interesting class but it was only the first one and Xavier was clearly passionate about what he was teaching.

When the bell rang Dr. Xavier called out over the sound of rustling bags, "could I have a volunteer to show Mr. McCoy where his next class is, please?"

"What class does he have?" Somebody asked.

Dr. Xavier looked at Hank expectantly. "Uh... German, with Herr Lehnsherr," Hank said nervously. Bobby snorted next to him.

Dr. Xavier made a face as though he'd just swallowed a lemon. "Yes well, anyone?"

"I'll take him, my next class is near there." A boy volunteered. Hank turned around to see a lanky boy with spiky blond hair and a slightly manic expression on his face. He walked over to Hank and stuck out a hand, "John," he said.

"Hi," Hank replied. "Thanks for offering."

"No problem, man," he replied. "I don't envy you though."

Hank ducked his head, already today he had received more attention than he was used to from his peers. John smacked Bobby upside the head and walked towards the door. Hank shot an alarmed looked at Bobby who just rolled his eyes.

"Are you coming?" John called over his shoulder.

"Yeah." Hank said, hoisting his bag onto his back and hurrying after John. "What was that about?" He asked when he caught up to John.

"What was what?" John asked.

"You just smacked Bobby for no reason."

"Oh, that. I smack him whenever he's dressed like an intellectual douche because I refuse to be associated with someone who has a goatee and and wears a sport jacket to public school." John shrugged as though this was a perfectly normal response to have when you didn't like what your friend was wearing.

"Ah," Hank replied feeling both perplexed and overwhelmed at once.

"Here we are," John said abruptly. "Herr Lehnsherr's German class. Have a good time." He snorted as though he felt this was particularly unlikely and walked away.

Hank walked into the classroom and was met with a tall, imposing man with a chiseled jaw. He was wearing a casual suit which fit him like a glove. Hank tentatively approached him and introduced himself. Herr Lehnsherr smiled at him in a way that was probably supposed to be welcoming but he had so many teeth that it made him look like a shark. "Welcome to Liberty High, Hank. You can take a seat in the back next to Alex."

Herr Lehnsherr gestured to the back of his classroom where an unbelievably attractive young man who was leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. He had sort messy blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and a square jaw. He wore jeans, a band t-shirt which Hank could have sworn was a size too small for him, and a leather jacket. Hank had to stop himself from drooling. He spared a moment to wonder why on earth everyone in this school was so unbelievably attractive before walking towards the seat Herr Lehnsherr had indicated.

There were still a few minutes before class was scheduled to begin and Hank decided to try and strike up a conversation with Alex. "Hey," he said, cringing at his own awkwardness. "I'm Hank McCoy, it's nice to meet you." He held his hand out to Alex.

Alex looked at Hank's hand as though it was something particularly nasty on the bottom of his shoe. Hank awkwardly dropped his hand and turned to face the front, his cheeks burning. He caught the eyes of a lanky, long-haired boy wearing baggy, grungy clothes who was walking directly towards him. As he got closer Hank could smell pot wafting off his clothes, which explained a lot about his appearance.

"Ignore Alex," The boy said to him, flopping down in the chair in front of Hank. "He's way too cool to be here. I'm Sean, by the way, it's nice to meet you Hank."

"How do you know who I am?" Hank asked curiously.

"Raven told me about you. She told me to look out for the new kid who's sort of nerdy hot in my German class. That's you!" Sean told him excitedly.

"Quiet," the command came from the front of the classroom. Immediately all chatter died out and everyone turned to face the front. Herr Lehnsherr turned out to be a very different sort of teacher from Dr. Xavier. He didn't waste any time on outlines or expectations. He got right into teaching, by the middle of the lesson Hank's mind was spinning with verb endings and new vocabulary.

Herr Lehnsherr had just handed out a worksheet when Dr. Xavier appeared in the doorway. "Erik!" He said cheerfully as he walked into the classroom, seemingly unaware of the students sitting not three feet from him.

Herr Lehnsherr's jaw ticked. "Charles," he responded, "can I help you?"

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't working your students too hard on the first day of school," Charles aimed a wink at the students. "You've got to be respect them if you want them to respect you, after all." Dr. Xavier walked over to Herr Lehnsherr's desk and hopped up onto it. He pulled a bag of chocolates out of his pocket, opened it up and started popping them in his mouth. He silently offered the bag to Herr Lehnsherr.

"It is neither the time nor the place for your ridiculous theories about how education should properly be done. You know very well what my opinion on the matter is. You have no place in my classroom, please leave." Erik spoke with barely constrained anger, Hank glanced around the classroom meeting the eyes of the other students. No one seemed entirely sure if they should say something or just watch the scene before them unfold.

Dr. Xavier just smiled serenely and continued to munch on his chocolates, seemingly unaware of the vein pulsing dangerously in Herr Lehnsherr's forehead. The two of them engaged in some sort of furious argument with their eyes for a few moments. Whatever the argument was, Herr Lehnsherr seemed to win because Dr. Xavier rolled his eyes, hopped off the desk and walked to the door of the classroom.

Dr. Xavier turned to the students at the last second. "Don't let that insufferable cephalopod work you too hard," he said with a cheeky grin. Herr Lehnsherr growled and Dr. Xavier could be heard laughing as he walked down the hall. Herr Lehnsherr spun around and fixed the class with an angry stare causing everyone to duck their heads and pretend they hadn't been watching.

The rest of Hank's day was far more normal, although no less surreal for him. After German he had History. Mr. Howlett turned out to be a short, burly man who looked more intimidating that Herr Lehnsherr and seemed to speak exclusively in growls. He was the direct opposite of his apparent boyfriend, Mr. LeBeau, a tall, graceful Cajun man who taught Phys ed in such a way that Hank was actually able to master dribbling a basketball. At lunch Raven, Sean, John, and Bobby had invited him to come sit with them and Sean had regaled them with the tales of a particularly disturbing dream he had. Raven had fawned over him the whole time, which Hank couldn't understand until Bobby explained to him that Raven and Sean were the longest standing couple in their grade.

All in all, Hank thought as he walked home, it had been a good day. He had made some friends and his teachers, despite being a very eclectic bunch, seemed to actually know what they were doing. The only thing that Hank couldn't consider a success was his interaction with Alex during German class. The boy didn't seem particularly social, Hank hadn't seen him sitting in the cafeteria at lunch, but Hank was bothered by his refusal to even introduce himself.

Hank shrugged it off. There was no use dwelling on it now, he could always try again tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit so I know it's been a year since I posted the first chapter of this and I'm really sorry. I started university this year and it's been really hectic. Also I take forever to write things. 
> 
> Anyway, here's Alex's feelings about meeting Hank. Hope you enjoy.

Alex Summers was not having a good day. It started with him sleeping in and consequently rushing through his morning routine in order to get to school on time. Of course, there was no hot water left when he went to shower because when you share a house with your older brother and his two boyfriends hot water is a rare and precious commodity. Then, on the drive to school, he had to listen to Logan complaining about all of the "freshman brats" he was going to have to teach this year, a rant Alex was very familiar with as it was given at least once a month by the older man.

Once they had arrived at school and Alex was finally able to extricate himself from Logan he caught sight of a stunning teenage boy coming out of Principle Grey's office. He started to make his way over to introduce himself to the lanky new kid when said new kid crashed straight into Raven. Alex had quickly done a 180 and hurried away, mentally cursing. Raven would befriend the new kid, no question about it, which meant that he would find out exactly what the kids at this school thought about Alex before he could even get close.

That entire experience put Alex in an even worse mood. He was so caught up in his head that when the new kid, whose name he learned was Hank, introduced himself in their shared German class he just gave him a stunned look. Hank quickly looked away after that and Alex cursed his resting angry face. Alex spent the rest of the day brooding and kicking himself for his social awkwardness. It got so bad that even Logan asked him about it on the drive home, and Logan was possibly the most emotionally dense person Alex had ever met.

As soon as they arrived at the two story townhouse that the four of them shared Alex beat a hasty retreat to his room, slamming the door closed and blasting the loudest music he could find so that he could mope undisturbed.

A couple of hours later Alex became aware that Scott was pounding on his bedroom door. He sighed heavily and shut off the stereo, preparing himself for some well meaning but clumsy brotherly concern. Scott took the music cutting off as permission to enter Alex’s room.

He eased the door open and found his brother lying prostrate across his bed, his face buried in his comforter. “Alex?” Scott said cautiously, “what’s up with you today?"

Alex muttered something unintelligible into his comforter. “Excuse me?” Scott replied.

“Nothing,” Alex repeated sullenly, rolling over to lie on his back.

“Nothing,” Scott repeated skeptically. “Is that your final answer?"

Alex groaned and rolled his eyes. Scott took a seat in Alex’s desk chair and crossed his arms, ready to wait out his brothers stubbornness. Eventually Alex spoke again, “how does it work?”

Scott was caught off guard, “how does what work?”

“You and Logan and Remy,” Alex replied. “You’re all just so different but you work so well as a triad. I’ve been trying to figure it out but I can’t.”

“Jesus,” Scott ran a hand through his hair, “well, it wasn’t easy. It still isn’t actually, although I'm not sure any relationship really is. We were all friends first, and I think that really helped. We were able to get used to each others more overt eccentricities without the pressure of trying to impress each other romantically. Then one night we all got pretty drunk and wound up falling in to bed together. And then it happened again. and again. and again. So one day we figured that we were already pretty much in an exclusive sexual relationship and we might as well make a go of the romantic side. Don’t get me wrong, we still fight like cats and dogs all the time, but we’ve figured out that once the initial anger has faded away we can sit down and actually try to resolve our problems. It takes a lot of work and more uncomfortable conversations than I ever wanted to have but at the end of the day we love each other and we’re willing to work hard for this relationship.” Scott paused thoughtfully, “why do you ask? You’ve never been interested in our relationship before.”

“No reason,” Alex replied. Scott made a disbelieving noise and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t want to talk about it, okay?” Alex said forcefully, “just drop it.”

“Alright,” Scott held his hands up in surrender and stood up. “Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes,” Scott walked out of the door, pulling it shut behind him. He paused just before it clicked shut and opened it up again. “Alex, you know all three of us are always here for you, right? And if there’s something you need to talk about that you don’t want me to know about you can always ask Remy or Logan to keep it a secret and they will.”

“I know Scott,” Alex sighed. Scott lingered in the doorway for a moment in case Alex decided to call him back in. He didn’t.

Scott shut the door with a heavy sigh and made his way back down to the kitchen. Remy and Logan were both in the kitchen, Remy was making some of his world famous Gumbo for dinner and Logan was drinking a beer as he read over students essays. They both looked up when he entered the room.

“‘ow is le petit Summers?” Remy asked.

“I don’t know,” Scott confessed. “There’s clearly something bothering him but he refuses to talk about it. The only thing that happened when I was in his room was that he asked about how our relationship works when we’re all so different. What does that mean do you think?”

"It sounds like Monsieur Alex wants to make a relationship work with someone who he thinks is very different from him. I wonder who it could be?" Remy waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the other two and moved the gumbo off the heat, and ladling generous portions into the each of the four bowls resting on the side.

"But why wouldn't he just tell me that? Or one of you at least?" Scott ran a hand through his already disheveled hair, looking at his boyfriends helplessly.

“I wouldn’t worry about it, bub,” Logan chimed in, walking over to Scott and rubbing a hand soothingly over his back. “Whatever it is he’ll come to us when he’s ready. You Summers boys just need more time than the rest of us to get over your emotional constipation.”

Scott snorted, "you're right. I'm just worried about him."

"We know, Cher," Remy responded, "but he knows we're all here for him and until he's ready to talk about it there's really nothing we can do. Quit your worrying and go set the table for dinner while I go fetch him, Oui?"

"Sure, Rem," Scott smiled, mollified for the moment. He and Logan worked together, grabbing glasses and cutlery from the cupboards and depositing them neatly on the kitchen table where the four of them usually ate. Remy disappeared up the stairs and returned with a sullen teenager in tow.

Dinner began slightly more awkwardly than usual as Alex's foul mood permeated the room and Scott worked a little too hard at not making his brother feel any worse. The result was stilted small talk until Remy managed to draw the other men at the table into a story about one of the freshman girls who had been trying so hard to impress a boy with her volleyball technique that she had managed to hit the ball directly up in the air, fall flat on her stomach, and get hit on the head by the falling ball in one fell swoop.

"Did it work?" Alex asked, barely suppressing chuckles, "was he impressed?"

"Je ne sais pas," Remy replied, "mais he did take her to the nurse, so I suppose she at least managed to spend some more time with him."

"Speaking of spending more time with people," Scott interjected, "do you two remember that we signed up to chaperone the Junior's outdoor ed trip this year?" Remy and Logan both nodded. "Well, the list of chaperones was released today and, get this, Erik and Charles both signed up."

"Erik and Charles? You don't mean Erik Lensherr and Charles Xavier?" Alex asked, aghast.

"The very same." Scott replied, "and when I mentioned it to Charles at lunch he just went on and on about the benefits of outdoor education and how proud he was to be working at a school where such things are taken seriously. No mention of the fact that he'll be spending two weeks sharing a cabin and a group of students with a man he hates!"

"Wait, they're both in charge of the same group?" Alex demanded. Scott nodded, "that's going to be a bloodbath! What was Ms. Monroe thinking?"

"It'll be an interesting two weeks, that's for sure," Logan agreed. "Have they released the students in each group yet?"

"They hadn't earlier, but let me check again," Scott replied, pulling out his phone. "Yes they have. Let's take a look, Remy, looks like you and I have Jubilee and Kurt Wagner in our group, which should be interesting. No one else that looks like they might cause trouble though. Logan you and Pietro have Warren Worthington III. I know you hate him but please try to be at least civil, remember he's just a teenager, no matter how pompous and superior he acts."

Logan grunted in acknowledgement. "Whose in my group?" Alex asked.

"Let me find you," there was a pause as Scott scanned the email, "here we go. Okay, Raven Darkholm, Sean Cassidy, St. John Allerdyce, Bobby Drake, Anna Marie, Hank McCoy, Angel Salvatore, Armando Muñoz, and you, Alex. And your chaperone's are Charles and Erik."

"Tell me you're kidding," Alex looked up at his brother, all traces of his budding good humour gone.

"Nope, that's what this email says." Scott replied apologetically, "I'm sure it won't be that bad. They are professionals after all."

"Right," Alex replied sarcastically, "I'm sure it'll be just peachy." He slammed his spoon down into his empty bowl and stood up abruptly. "I'm going to bed. See you in the morning." Before anyone could say anything else Alex stormed up the stairs and the sound of a slamming door resonated through the house.

"Ugh," Scott buried his face in his hands, "I'm a terrible guardian."

"No you aren't Cher," Remy replied, "Alex is just unusually difficult to get information out of, especially if it's about how he's feeling. He'll tell us when he's ready."

"In the meantime, it doesn't look like the brat is coming out of his room anytime tonight."

"Logan!" Remy scolded.

"All I meant was we have most of the house to ourselves for the evening. I was going to suggest that we could make Scotty feel better in more ways than one," Logan said with a predatory smile.

"You two are the worst boyfriends ever," Scott said into his hands. He looked up with a smile when both men made noises of protest and indignation, "well if you feel that strongly about it I suppose I could be convinced otherwise."

"You'd better," Logan growled, leaning forwards and capturing Scott's lips in a hungry kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm a disaster and I apologize. On the bright side I passed my exams, so there is that.

School had been in session for three weeks before Hank truly felt comfortable at Liberty High. For reasons beyond his comprehension Raven had decided that they were now friends and had dragged John, Bobby, and Sean, along for the ride.

To Hank's disappointment Alex Summers had kept his distance after that first day. Whenever Hank tried to talk to him Alex's responses ranged from silent staring to terse civility. Mostly the blond boy ignored Hank whenever they were in the same room. None of this behaviour seemed to do anything to assuage Hank's burgeoning crush on the other boy, much to Hank's embarrassment and Raven's amusement.

"Maybe he's in denial," Raven said one day at lunch. "I mean think about it, he's got this big macho man persona, with the leather jackets and the bad attitude, maybe he thinks being gay will ruin that somehow."

"I think you're forgetting that he lives with Logan Howlett," Bobby said, "that man is five kinds of terrifying and he's gay. Hell he's gay and poly, not exactly what the rest of his reputation would indicate."

"Yeah, but Alex has been to juvie," John pointed out. "Gay people don't exactly have the best time in places like that."

"What was he in juvie for?" Hank asked, interest piqued.

"No idea," Bobby said, "no one here knows. All we know is there was some sort of incident at his old school that landed him in juvie for a year. He transferred here when he got out both because he was expelled from his old school and so that his brother could keep a closer eye on him."

"Rumor has it that it was assault," John said, "that or gang activity. No one can really agree."

"Which is why we don't listen to rumors," Bobby shot his boyfriend a glare, "no one knows what they're talking about."

"He could be gay and just in denial about liking Hank," Sean chipped in, "no offense buddy but you're not exactly the hottest guy in school."

"Hank's totally hot," Raven protested, "he's got this whole Clark Kent vibe going on."

"Can we just drop it, please?" Hank said, his ears burning as he snuck a look at Alex where he sat across the cafeteria. "He's probably just not into me."

"Fine," Raven sighed and the chatter at the table turned to an upcoming history project they had all been assigned. Hank participated only half-heartedly in the discussion, his mind still focused on the mystery that was Alex Summers.

Hank was so consumed by his pining that he didn't notice the bell had rung until John punched him in the shoulder to get his attention. "Come on, Hank," he said, "time for bio."

"Sorry," Hank felt his face heat up as he packed up his bag, "I wasn't paying attention."

"Too busy day-dreaming about big, blond, and beautiful?" John smirked.

"Wh-what? No," Hank objected, his flaming red face and instinctual lowering of his eyes giving away the lie.

"It's alright," John laughed as they made their way down the hall. "If you tell anyone this I will hurt you, but before Bobby and I started dating I was actually failing Math because I couldn't pay attention to anything the teacher was saying. Bobby sat right in front of me. I wasn't exactly doodling 'Mr. John Drake' in the margins of my notebook but it was a near thing. I get the whole pining thing."

"So you're saying that I'm just like you?" Hank teased, shyly.

"Hell no," John replied, "I'm saying your crush isn't that bad. You're way to nerdy to be like me."

Hank laughed as he and John took their seats. "What's so funny?" Bobby asked from his seat beside Hank.

"Nothing," Hank chuckled.

"I'm leaving you," John tossed out, "me and Hank are eloping."

Bobby quirked an eyebrow as Hank dissolved back into laughter, "if you need any tips for the wedding night Hank, I can tell you exactly what John likes."

"Don't you dare," John said.

Bobby just smirked, "there's this thing I do with my tongue that..."

John cut Bobby off with a yell as he tackled him off his seat. Both Bobby and John crashed to the ground and began to play wrestle on the floor. Hank had to jump out of his seat to avoid ending up on the floor as well. After a few moments John managed to get the upper hand and he lowered his head so that he and Bobby were kissing.

"Does this mean we're back together?" Bobby teased when John pulled away for air. John just rolled his eyes and kissed Bobby again.

"As entertaining as young love is," Dr. Xavier's amused British accent came from the front of the room, "kissing and rolling around on the floor in a room in which dissections and chemical experiments are performed is not the most hygienic thing. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from such activities."

Bobby and John both scrambled to their feet, cheeks flaming, "sorry, Dr. Xavier," Bobby said.

"That's perfectly alright Mr. Drake," Dr. Xavier replied. "If you could all take your seats, the bell has just rung so we can begin."

Hank, Bobby, and John all sat down and pulled out their notebooks as Dr. Xavier began his lecture on bacteria. In the middle of the lecture Dr. Xavier had his back turned away from the door because he was drawing diagrams of different types of bacteria and discussing their structure.

Hank caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned around to see Herr Lehnsherr entering the classroom and leaning against the cabinets at the back of the room. He was carrying a bag of potato chips and he began to munch on them slowly and calmly.

When he heard the crunch of chips and the crinkle of the bag Dr. Xavier whipped around to see Herr Lehnsherr. "Erik!" he admonished, "you know you aren't allowed to eat in the science labs."

Herr Lehnsherr's only response was to raise an eyebrow and very slowly and deliberately reached into the bag, pulled out another potato chip and popped it into his mouth.

"That is not a preference of mine," Charles huffed, "it is a rule that is in place for the safety of everyone in the school. You never know what may have been left on the tables. There's no guarantee that you're not eating formaldehyde or something."

"Will these hypothetical traces of formaldehyde spontaneously become gaseous and float from the tables onto my potato chips?" Herr Lehnsherr asked, his face betraying no emotion.

"That is irrelevant!" Dr. Xavier exclaimed, "the rule is so that everyone remains safe. We can't just ban eating on certain surfaces in certain areas of rooms. That would be completely preposterous. The relative danger isn't important, it's the fact that you're setting a terrible example for all these students. If their teachers can't even follow the rules why should they?"

"A mystery for the ages," Herr Lehnsherr agreed pleasantly, still munching on chips.

"Erik, please," Dr. Xavier sounded exasperated, a frown marring his usually cheerful face.

Herr Lehnsherr looked at Dr. Xavier for a long moment before he sighed and crumpled the bag of chips, throwing it in the garbage.

"That was a waste of food," Dr. Xavier frowned.

"And you know so much about wasting food do you?" Herr Lehnsherr snapped.

"That's not what I meant," Dr. Xavier inexplicably softened, "I'm sorry, my friend."

Herr Lehnsherr muttered something angrily in German before switching back to English, "I wanted to talk to you about the outdoor ed trip."

"Of course," Dr. Xavier had returned to his usual pleasant cheeriness, "perhaps we could discuss it over schnitzel?" John and a few others in the room audibly gasped at Dr. Xavier's blatantly ridiculous assumption of what Herr Lehnsherr would eat for lunch.

Herr Lehnsherr for his part showed no reaction to the taunt other than flared nostrils and a slight incline of his head. "We'll speak later," he said, "for now I will let you return to teaching these teenagers as though they were five."

Before Dr. Xavier could splutter out a reply Herr Lehnsherr had turned on his heel and stalked out of the classroom.

"What was that about?" Hank whispered to Bobby.

"I don't know," Bobby replied, "but that was weird, even for them."

"Yeah," John agreed from Hank's other side, "Dr. Xavier just dropping the chip thing like that? And the assumption that Herr Lehnsherr would eat German food for lunch just because he's German?"

"We need to get to the bottom of this," Bobby agreed.

"They're both going on the outdoor ed trip right?" John said, "that'll be the perfect opportunity."

"Children," Dr. Xavier interrupted all the whispered conversations that had broken out across the classroom, "I'd like to get through all the material in class today so that you don't have extra homework." The carrot did little to quell the whispers so Dr. Xavier sighed and offered up the stick instead, "you know, I'm on detention duty all week. I'd hate to have to see you all there after school." That got everyone to quieten down very quickly. Dr. Xavier beamed at them and continued the lesson.

Hank noticed movement in the hall again and when he looked he could see Herr Lehnsherr lurking outside of the classroom, listening to Dr. Xavier drone on about cell walls and flagella. Hank turned back to the board but his attention stayed focused on the man outside the door. The legendary feud of Dr. Xavier and Herr Lehnsherr just kept getting curiouser and curiouser.


	4. Chapter 4

"Darling, I'm home!" Charles's voice rang out through the cozy apartment he shared with his husband.

"How was supervising detention?" Erik called from the kitchen.

Charles toed off his shoes and padded through the apartment towards the sound of Erik's voice. Charles found him standing over the stove, pan frying bread crumb covered pork. "It was alright," he replied, "no major incidents. That smells divine, Love." He walked up to Erik and reached up to press a kiss into his cheek.

"Thanks," Erik replied, "it's almost ready, why don't you go wash up and get changed?"

"Alright," Charles agreed. He started to head towards the bedroom but paused in the doorway of the kitchen. "Erik, about earlier, I really am sorry. I shouldn't have said anything about wasting food. I didn't mean to..."

Erik cut him off with a wave of his spatula, "it's alright, Charles. I know you didn't mean anything by it. I just wasn't expecting it, and... Well it's still difficult. I don't blame you."

"Still," Charles said, "I'll be more careful in the future. And we can snuggle on the couch tonight to make up for it, no grading. We can even watch The Prince of Egypt."

"You swore you'd never watch that movie again," Erik said, "unacceptably anachronistic with too much deus ex-machina I believe you called it."

"And I stand by those criticisms," Charles nodded.

"It's an animated version of a bible story," Erik laughed, "you should really have seen both of those things coming."

"Well that's no excuse," Charles teased, "and it's your favourite movie. So we'll eat this wonderful schnitzel, talk about the outdoor ed trip, you can take a long hot bath while I do the washing up and then we can curl up on the couch in those cozy flannel pajamas with some hot chocolate and watch The Prince of Egypt. And maybe if we feel up to it we can have a little fun later," Charles waggled his eyebrows making Erik laugh again.

"That sounds perfect, Charles," Erik smiled, "go wash up."

Charles hurried to do as he was bid. Erik plated the schnitzel and set out a bottle of wine on the table. Charles returned after a few minutes wearing comfy sweats and one of Erik's t-shirts. He helped Erik set the table and the two of them sat down to dinner.

Charles took one bite of the schnitzel and moaned in pleasure, "this is delicious, Darling, thank you."

"You're very welcome," Erik replied, a small smile playing at his lips.

"What did you want to say about the outdoor ed trip?" Charles asked.

"We're in the same cabin," Erik said. Charles made a noise of acknowledgement, "I just want say that maybe we should turn down the 'we hate each other' thing for the duration. I've had student's looking at me terrified ever since it was announced."

"I agree," Charles nodded, "this whole charade is quite entertaining at school, but if they have to spend four days in close quarters with us I'm certain it will wear on them. Not to mention I don't think I can be mean to your for four days straight. I love you too much."

"Charles," Erik complained, a pleased smile creeping across his face despite himself.

"It's true, Love," Charles beamed at his husband, "you'd think after almost ten years of marriage you'd have gotten used to me telling you by now. How handsome you are, how perfect, how every time I see you all I want to do is..."

"Charles!" Erik exclaimed, his face bright red.

Charles chuckled at his husband's shyness, "so we're in agreement then? We'll be civil to each other on the outdoor ed. trip?"

"I'm sure we can manage civil without completely blowing our cover," Erik agreed.

"Excellent," Charles beamed. "Now that we've got that sorted... What's the betting that Alex Summers and Hank McCoy are going to get together before the end of the year?"


End file.
